World War II is finally over, and America is in a scramble to eradicate the horrible memory of the past four years. Millions of servicemen are returning home to a world far different than the one they left; yet, there is an unspoken acknowledgement that a fundamental change has occurred. Past relationships have changed, societal barriers have crumbled and the world is both a better and worse place. As America struggles to regain its sense of normalcy, the beginning of the civil rights movement began to take root, not through signs, rallies or speeches but through one of the most unlikely places; Baseball.

Growing up in Memphis before the war, Dwight Jacksons dream was to play for the Memphis Red Sox of the Negro American League, and although Dwight loved the game, the game didnt exactly love Dwight. God had not blessed Dwight with the skills necessary to play the game. Instead, he gave Dwight a natural eye for art and photography, one that was further enhanced by Uncle Sam putting Dwight to work as a reconnaissance photographer with the famed 92nd Infantry Division (the Buffalo Soldiers of WWI and WWII fame) who saw heavy combat in Italy. After learning to compose and develop photographs during the war, Dwight was eager to return to Memphis, settle down with his high school sweetheart and quickly put the war behind him. Unfortunately, Dwight discovers, like so many other returning soldiers, that life did not stand still in his absence; his girlfriend is pregnant. Embarrassed, but still in love with Dwight, she nonetheless feels compelled by tradition to try and be with the father of her child, a slick and ambitious man who does not truly love her. As quickly as Dwights dreams of marrying crumble, so does his ambition to make it as a freelance photographer. Competition is fierce and dollars are short, until a chance encounter at a club on Beale Street changes his life forever. A pre-season party for the Memphis Red Sox is in full swing, and all of the players, coaches and owners are in attendance. After a long night of partying, they drag Dwight to Nudie Butts Caf for an early breakfast and an introduction to the Big Boss, Tom LePere, the teams owner. Realizing the PR potential posed by Dwights services, Tom offers him a gig covering the team for the 1946 season. Dwight, tiring of the constant hustle to survive on his own, jumps at the opportunity to secure a steady source of income, even though the fast life he's thrown into may jeopardize his chances with his ex-sweetheart, who he still has strong feelings for.

Through Dwights camera lens, we will witness the drama that was Black Ball in the Jim Crow South of 1946, a curious and bizarre world of separate but equal which was anything but. Over the course of the next ten years, Dwight and his audience will watch and learn how these men, including some of the best players to step on a diamond, forever changed American society by merely playing a game they love. As Dwight documents the season, he realizes that he is witnessing events of far greater importance than a simple game of baseball. Although many of the Negro League players are well paid, the lure of the Major Leagues and its promise of validation in a white-washed world becomes a greater goal, and through Dwight we see that for many of the players the issue of breaking segregation and gaining respect and equality as a human being was far more important than fielding or hitting a baseball.